Part of the Girls' Tennis Team of the Year (from left) - Jennah Kitchell, Madison Sperry and Alexandra Lehnert

When you think of tennis, you think of Arthur Ashe, John McEnroe, Roger Federer, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Wimbledon, and the list can go on forever with great professionals. But Friday night at the Denver Marriott South, we had our own stars of Colorado, who were being inducted into the Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame.

The 2007 class of inductees included: Roald Flater, Ned Cooney, Sandra Elliott, Tariq Abdul-Hamid and Andrea Jaeger. These individuals join a long list of other professionals in this outstanding class.

Roald Flater, who is 82 and still going strong, approached the stage not by using the steps but by climbing directly onto the stage. Roald is a dominant force in tournament play at state and sectional levels. He locked up the # 1 spot in every age division from the 45 and over through 80 and over, not only in Colorado but Intermountain rankings. He has three gold, five silver and two bronze balls in USTA National competition. And the list of accomplishments goes on and on.

A leader in the Colorado Tennis Umpires Association since 1984, Ned Cooney was a fixture at the largest tournaments in the state for more than 25 years. Ned held board and administrative positions for the Colorado Tennis Association, and for more than a decade, he answered readers’ challenging rules questions in his regular Ask Ned feature column in Colorado Tennis newspaper. His exemplary service earned Ned the CTA Ade Butler Award (Umpire of the Year) in 2003 and again in 2007. Ned officiated his final tournament just days before he passed away on August 31, 2007.

Sandra Elliott is the seventh of eleven children, born and raised in Grand Junction. She entered her first tournament at the age of seven and reached the final round in the 10 and under division. From there her career took off and Sandra Elliott led the way, not only in high school but college as well. She accomplished a 24-0 win loss record in 1983 at the University of Northern Colorado and is the title holder of three NCAA Division II national doubles championships.

Tariq Abdul-Hamid was born in Chicago and moved to Denver at the age of 10. He became an accomplished player at City Park. He played tennis at Manual High School and went on to play for the University of Colorado. Tariq is a dedicated coach and volunteer to many young kids who are honored to have a person like Tariq in their lives. Tariq has achieved many accomplishments in life, including the Colorado Tennis Association Arthur Ashe Award and the 9 WHO CARE Award.

Andrea Jaeger began playing tennis at the age of eight, and quickly rose to the top of the national junior rankings, earning 13 U.S. titles. She became the youngest player at Wimbledon at just 15. Andrea was a finalist at the 1982 French Open and 1983 Wimbledon and reached a career high ranking of #2 in the world. Her career ended in 1985 after injuring her shoulder. She retired after numerous surgeries. She soon started an organization called The Little Star Foundation. This foundation helps to provide for children living with cancer. Little Star Foundation provides specialized medical, financial, educational and hospice programs at no cost to the families for thousands of children.

In addition to the inductees, the Colorado Tennis Association presented the 2007 Annual Awards to the following:

Sara Anundsen - Rosemary Fri Award (Female College Player);

Luke Shields - Vernon John Award (Male College Player);

Lauren Strasburger - Joan Birkland Award (Female Player);

Cory Ross - Jim Landin Award (Male Player);

Will Vasos - Jack Celia Award (Male High School Player);

Rocky Mountain High School - Richard Hillway Award (Boys' High School Team);

Congratulations to all these outstanding individuals. For more information or to find out how you can volunteer log on to http://www.coloradotennis.com or call 303-695-4116. Yes, tonight I was honored to be around people who still enjoy the game and have not forgotten about the people they have met along the way to help them be where they are today.